


Five Teachers Walk Into A Bar...

by Immabewriting



Category: Chris Evans - Fandom, Chris Hemsworth - Fandom, Chris Pine - Fandom, Henry Cavill - Fandom, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/M, Female Character of Color
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 18:20:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9454166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Immabewriting/pseuds/Immabewriting
Summary: People find love in unexpected ways and so did these five teachers...





	1. Chapter 1

“Alright boys, drink up!” Evans hollers over the music and chatter around them at the bar. He sets the pints down and everyone grabs their own quickly. It was Friday night and that meant one thing for Evans and his gang: booze and women. Well, okay make that two.

            “Ooh I found my mark,” Hiddleston says. He gestured over to the two girls at the bar, “The one with the red hair.” He tells them. They all groan in protest.

            “Tom, have you thought about hitting on someone your own age or close?” Henry asks jokingly.

            “Yea, dude come on she could be your student!” Evans exclaims.

            “I don’t only hit on younger women, Chris tell them!” Tom protests.

            “Which one?” Pine, Hemsworth and Evans asked in unison. They all laugh as Tom drinks his beer, rolling his eyes.

            “Whatever fine, I’m going over there and I don’t care what any of you think.” He takes one last swig of his beer, fixes his shirt and walks off to the redhead.

            “20 bucks says he doesn’t go home with her,” Pine wagers.

            “You’re on,” Cavill says.

            Hemsworth shakes his head, “Its always the elementary school teachers that are the craziest.”

            “Oh hush you, I had a rough week! Two kids got paint all over my good pants do you know how hard paint stains are to get out?” Henry says.

            “Oh really? I coach water polo! I get lucky if my kids only get bruised during practice.” Hemsworth protests.

            “Oh my god just whip them out and get this over with!” Evans pleads. Hemsworth lightly socks his arm while Cavill chuckles and takes another sip of his beer.

            “Uh oh, redhead looks mad.” Pine says. Everyone turns to see Tom and Redhead talking. She looks either bored or angry or both. Tom somehow can’t see this because he is doing what he does best: ramble.

            “Oh god Tom, stop talking for two seconds!” Pine almost shouts across the room. They all chuckle, the Redhead says something, this seems to stop Tom but he shrugs and says something else. Oh god, she looks offended, oh he’s trying to take back what he said.

            “This… can’t end well,” Evans says.

            The drink thrown in Tom’s face proves Evans right.

            They all laugh except for Cavill who is now short of 20 dollars. “Aw, cheer up Henry there is always next time.” Hemsworth tells him. Henry grunts and hands the twenty to Pine.

            Tom stands there stunned. It wasn’t the first time he had a drink thrown in his face but he had thought by now his charm, smarts and wit would work on almost any girl, guess not. He grabs some napkins to dry himself as best he can.

            _“I really hope this stain comes out!”_ he thinks to himself. He hears a giggling and looks over to see the woman sitting a few seats down laughing at him. Oh that was just rude.

            “I’m sorry are you laughing at me?” He asks her.

            “Isn’t it obvious?” she says.

            “Well, I’m glad someone found this funny because I didn’t.”

            “Oh come on, it was bound to happen someday.” She says sipping her water.

            “What do you mean?” he asks her. She looks at him like he’s an idiot and sighs.

            “Every other Friday night you come in here and every other Friday night I see you take home a girl a little too young for you. Karma was bound to hit you at some point.” She told him. Ouch.

            “How do you know I come here every Friday night?” he asks her.

            “I work here, tonight’s my night off.” She explains. “And I am so glad it is or I wouldn’t have seen that.” She teases. He didn’t do that every Friday night…. Did he? He tries to come up with an excuse but he keeps coming up blank.

            “I hit the nail on the head didn’t I? she asks. He tries to say something. He can’t. “I thought so.” She smirks and walks off. He watches her leave, her long black hair flowing past him, the bangles on her arms clinking with every step. Who the hell was she?

            Evans goes over to the bartender to order some more pints for him and the other. He looks around while he’s waiting and spots a familiar face. What’s she doing here?

            “Nancy?” he asks. She turns around, her short black curls bouncing as she does. Her eyes widen as she realizes who he is.

            “Mr. Evans?! What are you doing here?” Nancy asks him.

            He laughs, “I’m hanging out with some friends. What about you?” He asks her.

            “O-Oh, my friend decided I need a night out, so I’m here!” she laughs nervously and sips her cocktail. “How are you Mr. Evans?”

            “Please, call me Chris.” He tells her. Is she blushing?

            “Sorry, how are you Chris?” she asks.

            “I’m doing well, and you?” he asks her.

            “Yea, doing well!” she says. More awkward silence, Come on Chris say something to her!

            “May likes your class a lot!” she tells him.

            “Well I’m glad to hear that! Shes a wonderful student.” He says. She smiles.

            “I’m really bad at this!”

            “At what…?” He asks.

            “Socializing!” she shouts. Oh god Nancy why did you do that?

            He laughs, “Hey, its okay it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I probably wouldn’t be here if my friends weren’t here.” He tells her.

            She giggles, “No, you’re a natural! All big and buff! And you got that cute puppy smile!” she tells him her words sounding a bit slurred.

            “How many drinks have you had Nancy?” he asks.

            “Pssh! Only two!” she reassures him. He gives her a look, “Two times two…?” she confesses.

            “Oh dear,”

            “I’m fine really! I have my friend and a babysitter at home! And I can touch my nose, see!” she slowly tries to touch her nose and pokes her eye.

            “Let’s get your friend to take you home, okay?” he asks.

            “That would be nice.” She says. He takes her hand and they locate her friend who takes Nancy and thanks Chris for finding her.

            “Goodbye Mr. Ev—I mean Chris!” she shouts even though he is two feet away. He smiles, “Goodby Nancy, see you soon.” He watches her leave and sighs. He had had mothers flirt with him in the past it wasn’t unusual for him but, this was something new for him. This weird feeling he had in the pit of his stomach that he didn’t know if it was from too much drinking or something else.

            “Chris! Where are our drinks man?!” Cavill called out to him bringing him back to reality. He would have to think about feelings another time. He grabbed the drinks and headed to the table where Tom sat sulking in the corner while everyone else took turns joking about what had happened.

            Nancy… He definitely was going to mull that over for a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always please read and review and leave a little kudos!! enjoy!

Tom sat in his office grading papers when there was a knock on his door, "Come in." He calls out. The door opens and he looks up to see who it is and- oh my god. This could not be happening.

Standing in his doorway was the girl who belittled him at the bar Friday night. Karma really was a bitch. She stood there in a plain white tee, plaid scarf and jeans. Her arms decked with bangles like they were on Friday night and her hair tied in a ponytail.

And she wore that same stupid smirk she had on Friday night.

"Well this is surprise!" She teases.

"What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?" He asks.

"Why would I stalk you? There are far more interesting people to stalk." She says.

"I'm interesting!" He retorts.

"Keep telling yourself that professor." She says taking a seat.

He rolls his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for the research institute," she tells him.

"Are you a student here?" He asks.

"God no, I'm a historian in Pakistani arts, literature, artifacts, you name it."

"Why Pakistan?"

"Well I mean, I'm from there. Was the accent not obvious?" She asks.

"Well, I didn't want to assume.” He says sheepishly. “If you're working here why do you also work at the bar?" He asks.

"Not all of us can live comfortably with just one job. Some of us need something to fall back on. Besides I'm a manager at the bar so I get to decide when I work." She says.

"Ah, fair point." He agrees. They both sit there in silence.

"So... where is the research institute?" She asks him.

"Oh! Um exit this building and follow the cement path till you hit the library and then turn left and it'll be right there. It's a newer building so you can't miss it." He tells her.

"Thank you." She gets up and begins walking.

"Wait! I didn't get your name." He says.

She laughs a little, "It's Mahira Chaudhry. And yours?"

"Tom Hiddleston."

"Well it was.... nice to meet you again Mr. Hiddleston." She smiles and leaves heading for the research institute. Tom watches her leave through his window and sighs. Mahira Chaudhry... we'll definitely meet again.

***

If Nancy was good at one thing it was being organized. She had calendars decked out with all of Mays activities, play dates, all the holidays, her work schedules. She had an app dedicated to organizing everything, to help mind keep order and at peace.

So when she dropped her daughter off on the first of school to her kindergarten class and saw whom her teacher was, she realized her mind was not going to be at peace for a whole year. A whole freakin' year! And it didn't help that he wore shirts too tight and his laugh was like a warm honey on toast and he smelled like a frikkin mountain lodge candle! Not cool!

Then--to make matters worse--he saw her drunk on Friday night calling him buff! God she could just melt into a puddle right now. How was she going to face him after school? She groans and slumps in her office chair.

"Do you still have a hangover from Friday? Ouch." Kaylee asks from her desk.

Nancy shakes her head and lifts her head, "Remember the cute guy we met on Friday?"

"With the beard and the whole daddy lumberjack vibe?" Kaylee says.

"Okay first of all: don't say that ever again. Second: he's Mays first grade teacher." She tells him.

"Wow go Nancy!" Kaylee cheers.

"No, no! It was embarrassing and I called him buff and pretty oh god!" She groans and slumps in her chair again.

"Nance come on! You're a beautiful, talented, wonderful woman. You need to get out there! Maybe this guy is what you need.” Kaylee says.

“But, he’s Mays teacher! It’s not right! Right?” she says.

“He’s a kindergarten teacher. What’s he going to do? Give her an A on coloring inside the lines?” Kaylee jokes.

“I mean… No but, I don’t know, I haven’t been on a date in a really long time!” Nancy protests.

“Then be brave. Ask him out or if he asks you out then say yes. One little date couldn’t hurt right?” Kaylee says. Kaylee could be right, Nancy wanted to be more adventurous this year maybe going on a date with Mr.Mountain-Lodge-Yankee-Candle wouldn’t hurt.

***

_Shoot! I’m so late I knew I should have skipped the meeting!_ Nancy was thinking as she tried running to Mays classroom in her heels. What was the point of calendars and alarms if they didn’t go off on time like they were supposed to?! She rushed to the classroom and oh goodness it was empty! She ran into the room hurriedly to see if May was still there.

As she walked in she saw what was probably the cutest thing in the entire god damn world of cute things. There was her daughter sitting next to Mr. Evans—or Chris—trying to read a book while he helped her. Aw, she was so good at it! She stood there watching them read the book in front of them. May was doing so well, she wanted to record a video of it but she knew that was way too cheesy and May would probably delete it once she found it.

As soon as they finished Chris nudges May and she looks over and sees Nancy. Nancy can’t help but smile when May yells, “MOMMY!!” and runs to her for a big hug. She kneels and hugs her tight.

“I heard you reading, it was so good Mayflower!” Nancy tells May.

“Thanks mommy! Mr. Evans helped me, he’s super cool!” May explains.

Chris laughs, “Oh please May, you could’ve totally done it all on your own! You’re a great reader.” He tells her. Nancy looks at Chris and stands up.

“Thank you for staying with her, I was running late from a meeting it won’t happen again I promise.” Nancy quickly says.

“Don’t sweat it, I don’t mind waiting.” Chris assures her with that cute puppy smile.

“W-Well thank you, we should go, May honey get your backpack okay?” Nancy tells May. She nods and runs off to get it leaving Nancy and Chris alone. Awkward.

“Uh, sorry about Friday night.” She apologizes.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“I was drunk and acting… weird. I called you big and buff!” she explains.

“You also said I had a cute puppy smile.” He teases.

“Oh god! I’m so sorry!” she apologizes.

“Hey, hey, its okay! I um, I liked being called a cute puppy.” He says. She laughs and they stand in awkward silence. Again. Wonderful.

_Come on Chris say something! Ask her out!_ He thought. Okay, he was going to do it. Here goes nothing.

“Um, are you doing anything Saturday night?” he asks her.

“N-No why?”

“I’m going to this movie night in the park thing and I have an extra ticket and was wondering if you wanted to go with me?” he asks. Oh god he did it oh god.

_Oh my god he asked you out Nancy say yes!_

“O-Oh yea! Um yea totally yea! Let me just um… Check my calendar!” she sputters out as she haphazardly looks for her phone before realizing its in her hand. “I’m totally free on Saturday!” she tells him. They exchange phone number and agree on a time to meet before saying their goodbyes.

As the door shut behind Nancy all she could think was how glad she was that she showed up late. And she had a date!! Oh god what was she going to wear?


	3. Chapter  Three

 

Pine rubs his eyes while writing finishing up the programs for the upcoming show. It was late, probably 10. The theater was empty, the lights were low and dim, the stage empty. There was something so wonderful about an empty stage, it was full of possibilities, and the stage was the best actor because it could become anything. It could be a house, or a street or a war bunker. It could be anything as long as you had the right tools, the stage could become anything your imagination wanted and he loved that about it. He smiles thinking about the sets they were about to put up in the next few days and that empty stage was going to transform into a forest in Athens for the play. It was going to be a bitch to set up but he couldn't wait.

The ping from his phone brought him back to reality and he checks who it is. His screen lights up notifying him he has a message from Hemsworth.

<Hey how's it going? -CH>

<Fine, why do you ask? -CP>

<Just wondering if you were doing okay -CH>

<I was wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow -CH>

<I have to put up sets for Midsummer why? -CP>

<It's March 16th tomorrow -CH>

Pine froze; he checked his calendar to make sure Hemsworth wasn't fucking with him. Shit, it really was the 16th tomorrow.

<Oh -CP>

<It's Millie's birthday tomorrow -CH>

<Wow, has it really been a year? -CP>

<It's been more that a year mate... -CH>

<She would've been 32 -CP>

<You don't need to go into work tomorrow you know that right? You can totally take the day off. -CH>

<And do what? Mope about all day? She wouldn't want me to do that -CP>

<And what do you want to do about it Chris? -CH>

He stared at that message for a long time. In all honestly it was probably two minutes but it felt long to him. What did he want to do about it? He wanted to scream, he wanted to curse whatever god decided Millie's fate, he wanted to punch a wall, he wanted sob for days.

He wanted to go back in time to change what happened that day most of all.

But that's not how it worked, that's not how _he_ worked. No, he had to move on, and he did. He focused on his work, working day and night, focusing on the theater department, on set designs and his students and he moved on. So why did he still feel so empty inside?

He sighs and shakes his head it was late, he needed to go home and drink something to get his mind off of this.

<Chris? -CH>

<Yea? -CP>

<What do you want to do? -CH>

<Um, I'll tell you tomorrow I have to drive home right now. Night -CP>

<Okay, night -CH>

Chris started packing his stuff up and walking out of the arts department. The music made walking down the hall like a scene out of a musical. Wait. Why was there music playing?

_Millie if this is your ghost trying to speak to me please don't hurt me._ He silently prays as he walks towards the sound hoping this wouldn't turn out like a horror film. The music got louder and louder as he reaches one of the private dance rooms, he assumed the room with the door slightly ajar is probably where the sound came from. Against his better judgment he peeks into the room to see what someone was doing at this hour at night and—holy crap.

He had seen people dance, and dance very well but the girl in that studio was more than just talented, she was, she was indescribable, she moved like water, her movements were elegant yet so powerful. She was a force to be reckoned with. She was—

“What the hell?!” she shouts at him bringing him crashing back to reality. Shit. Shit shit shit.

“I am so sorry! I just- I heard the music and I just wanted to know who was here so late and I-“ he starts apologizing

“So you decided you wanted a free peep show too?!” the girl shouts. She grabs her jacket and throws her water bottle at him.

“Whoa! Hey! I know you’re mad but I don’t think hurting me is the answer!” he retorts.

“It’s 11:30 p.m. and some random guy I’ve never seen is STARING at me, I’ve seen enough horror movies to know what’s going to happen!”

“I’m a professor here! I work in the Theater department, look!” he whips out his staff ID. She pauses and walks over and looks it over and then at his face to compare.

“Looks pretty legit..” she mumbles.

“I’m sorry for peeking, I just… you’re a really good dancer.” He tells her.

She looks at him, “I know. But thank you.”

“No problem,” he replies. “So um, why are you here so late?” he asks.

 

“It’s the only time I could get the room.” She explains.

“11:30 at night?”

“10:30. I was actually about to leave.” She says.

“Oh well, I hope you get home safe Miss...”

“Sana.” She finishes. “And thank you I’ll try.” She starts packing her stuff up.

“Right this is awkward now, I’ll um, I’ll go. Nice to me you Sana.” He sputters out as he leaves.

_You idiot! You just had to stop and watch her didn’t you?! Now she thinks you’re a creep and you probably will get a restraining order of some kind. Nice going!_ He got in his car and drove home to the wine bottle calling his name.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its Date night!!!

"Kaylee I have nothing to wear!" Nancy exclaims throwing dresses and blouses on the bed. This date was in 2 hours and she had nothing to wear, her hair looked atrocious, she couldn't find her favorite shoes, and to top it off her favorite lipstick melted in the car! And Kaylee was no help whatsoever.

Kaylee laughs, "You're stressing out way too much about this. Relax, it's just a date!"

"I haven't been on one since before May was born, I'm like a rusty sink!" May retorts.

"Oh wow yea, you should be worried."

"Kaylee you suck."

"I'm kidding!" Kaylee says walking over to Nancy. "Come on let me help you."

 

They went over her closet for thirty minutes before deciding on a red, skater dress; it was breezy and casual, perfect for a picnic. Kaylee helped curl her hair into soft, effortless waves. Some mascara, a little eyeliner and red lipstick later she was ready.

"You look hot. And I'm not saying that because I'm your cousin." Kaylee comments.

"You really think so?" Nancy asks again while looking in the mirror.

"May! Can you come here?" Kaylee called out. Little May bounded down the hall to the room.

"Ya kaylee?" May asks.

"Doesn't mommy look pretty?" Kaylee asks her. May looks at Nancy and her jaw drops. Literally.

"Mommy! You look like the prettiest princess in the entire world!" She exclaims. Kaylee and Nancy chuckle and Nancy hugs May, "Thanks Mayflower."

Just then the doorbell rang and all three of them turned their heads in the direction of the door.

"AH!" Nancy yells. Kaylee and May run to the door to answer it. And there was Chris standing there in a button down and some nice jeans.

"Mr. Evans!" May exclaims, Chris smiles and waves.

"Hi May, how are you?" He asks.

"I'm great! Kaylee made me mac and cheese!"

"Yes I did." Kaylee says. It was honestly a miracle she didn't burn down the kitchen. Chris turns to Kaylee and extends his hand, "I don't believe we've met, I'm Chris."

_Oh I know all about you Mr. Evans hehe._ "I'm Kaylee, Nancy’s cousin. It's nice to meet you." Kaylee answers. Wow he was beefy; USDA prime beefy beefy-ness.

"Are you sure you're not a lumberjack?" Kaylee asks him. He laughs.

"Yea, pretty sure." He answers.

"Kaylee stop Harassing Chris!" Nancy shouts walking into the room.

Now Chris had heard about how time froze when you saw your soulmate for the first time and granted this wasn’t the first time he saw her, but when he saw her it was like the world stopped. The universe somehow telling him, ‘this is it. This is who you’re supposed to be with.’ And if the universe was telling him that then he probably should listen.

“You look beautiful,” he says.

She blushes, “Thanks you look pretty nice too.”

“ _Very nice.”_ Kaylee commented. Nancy groans, “I’m so sorry about her.”

Chris chuckles, “Its okay I have sisters too. Um, you ready to go?”

Nancy nods, “Yea, just give me a sec!” she turns to Kaylee and May going over house rules, babysitting instructions, what to do in case Kaylee set the stove on fire (again) and making sure to give May two big hugs and a goodbye kiss.

“If anything happens call me!” Nancy tells them.

“We got it, don’t burn the house down! Now go on your date!” Kaylee says slowly kicking Nancy out. They say their goodbyes and leave.

“Don’t burn the house down…?” Chris asks.

“Kaylee and our stove don’t get along.” Nancy explains.

“Ah, well she seems responsible. I’m sure nothing will happen.” Chris assures her. She smiles at him and nods.

“So, um where are we going?” she asks him.

“Its this place called Scenic Cinema. They play movies outdoors on this huge projector and its really nice for a picnic or a date.” He tells her.

“Ooh cool beans!”

“Mhmm, You’re not allergic to anything right?”

“Nope, I will eat almost anything, except bananas I hate bananas.”

“What?! What did bananas ever do to you?”

“They taste terrible! And the shape? I mean come on you can’t take anyone seriously eating a banana.”

“You just have a dirty mind.”

“Maybe, but I still hate bananas.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to know that there are no bananas in this picnic basket.” He informs her. She giggles, “Good or I would’ve gotten out of the car.”

They drove to the outdoor theater and parked. It was a wonderful, sunny day perfect for picnic and a movie. They found a perfect spot near a tree and enjoyed the show…

“That ending was terrible! Why would they kill her?” Nancy exclaims.

“Because they had to, she was the accomplice!” Chris argues.

“No, they could’ve kept her for information, now they have nothing and have to find the thief on their own with some stupid evidence.” She retorts. They had just finished the movie and there were some mixed review about it. She hated it, he liked it, and discussion ensued.

“Well yea but the letters had some clues they could use.”

“And the woman who was his accomplice for _five years_ didn’t?” she retorts.

“Okay, you got me there.” He agrees. They were walking around the town center that was surrounded by little shops, and restaurants and bakeries making it feel cozy and cute and perfect for an after movie walk and talk. “So, what do you do?” he asks.

“Oh! I’m an editor for the LA Times.” She tells him.

“Wow, that’s really cool! Is there a section in particular you run?”

“The Op-Ed section. Its pretty neat, kind of tiring at times.” She says.

“How so?” he asks.

“Well a lot of our pieces need to be proofread a bunch of times and sometimes people email us asking why we didn’t put their piece in the paper and guess who gets to deal with that.” She says pointing at herself.

“Ouch, yea that must suck.” He says.

“Yea but I love it, everyone has a story or something to say and I think we should hear it." She says. He smiles, "That's a nice way of looking at the world."

She blushes, god she hadn't felt like this in a long time. What was that feeling called? The feeling of blushing for all the good reasons, the feeling of good butterflies; was there a term for that feeling? Because she was certainly feeling it right now.

They kept walking and talking. It got cooler and eventually he gave her his jacket like a true gentleman.

"Ooh, a bookstore! I haven't seen this here it must be new!" She says excitedly. Nancy calm down, don't let your nerd show.

"Wanna go in?" He asks. She looks at him and grins and runs in a little too fast. He smiles and follows behind her, happy to be along for the ride.

***

It had been 20 minutes since Chris saw Nancy and he was hoping she didn’t run off. He thought the date was going well, great even.

“Nancy?” he called out wandering the aisles of the bookstore.

“Yea?” a voice calls out. He runs in the direction of the voice and finds her behind a stack of books. She peeks out from behind the stack, “Ready to go?”

“Are you buying all those?” he asks.

“Yea of course, you’re only getting two books?” she asks him.

            “Um, yes?”

            “Okay,” she says and walks over to the cashier to purchase her books. “They’re not all for me, some are for May and one is for Kaylee.”

            “I wish I could read as many books as that.” He says.

            “Well trust me I wasn’t always like this.”

            “What changed?” he asks her. She was quiet for a moment then said, “When I was, thirteen my dad died.”

            “I’m so sorry,” he says.

            “Its okay, books were kind of my escape from reality. It really helped with the grief and depression and stuff.” She explains.

            “Wow,” he says.

            “Not exactly first date material.”

            “No no it’s okay, it’s great.” Awkward. “Um, will you recommend some books for me?” he asks. She looks at him and a huge grin breaks out on her face. She takes his hand and they go down the aisles of the bookstore looking for all the books she loved as a thirteen year old and beyond. By the end of the hour he had a stack as big as hers. They walked back to the car with two big bags of books and holding hands.

***

            “This was really nice. I had a lot of fun.” She says. They were at her doorstep now enjoying the last few minutes of the perfect night.

            “I’m glad you had fun because I had fun too.” He replies.

She smiles, “You know the only way you’re going to get this jacket back is if you take me on another date.”

            He laughs hard, “Okay, I’ll do you one better.”

            “And what would that be Mr. Evans?”

            He comes closer, “Its Chris,”

            “Oh sorry what would that be _Chris?_ ” she asks coming closer till they were a breath apart.

            He smirks and whispers, “I’ll give you a second date _and_ a kiss.”

            She giggles, “What was stopping you from kissing me before?” He smiles, cups her cheek, and they both lean in and kiss. It was soft, slow and sweet. His hand travelled up her back sending a shiver down her spine. He smiles against her lips and pulls her closer, her hands wrap around his neck. It was perfect. A perfect end to a perfect date with the perfect guy.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song thats in the italics is called Shape of you by Ed Sheeran. Heres the link to the song: https://youtu.be/_dK2tDK9grQ

_The Club isn’t the best place to find a lover,_

_So the bar is where I go._

Henry didn’t think one night would change his life but Penelope would prove otherwise.

            _Me and my friends at the table doing shots,_

_Drinking fast and then we talk slow._

He remembered the boys riling him up to chug down his pint of beer. He remembered finishing that pint off with ease; he remembered her watching from across the room.

            _You come over and start up a conversation with just me._

_And trust me I’ll give it a chance now_

She walked over, said hi, introduced herself; he did the same, the conversation flirtatious and electric. They both knew where this was going. She asked him if he wanted to get out of there and go back to her place and he couldn’t refuse.

            _Take my hand, stop_

_Put Van The Man on the jukebox_

_And then we start to dance_

            They went to her place, she put on some music and they danced, carefree and flirtatious. His hands on her hips tracing ever so slowly up and down her body. The small sighs she gave in response only egging him on.

            _And now I’m singing like_

_Girl, you know I want your love_

_Your love was handmade for somebody like me_

She grinds her hips against him and he groans. Oh they were going to have so much _fun._

            _I may be crazy, don’t mind me_

_Say, boy, let’s not talk too much_

_Grab on my waist and put that body on me_

She looks at him and their eyes meet for a second before their lips crash together. His hands reach the zipper on her dress and she slaps them away before he can do anything.

            “Naughty boy,” she chuckles.

            “Can you blame me?” he groans. She pushes him on the couch and she straddles his lap. Fuck she knew what she wanted and that was fucking hot. He grabs her ass and pulls her closer, she moans and he kisses her neck, kissing and leaving little lovebites everywhere. She unbuttons his shirt hastily and traces the lines of his chest and abs.

_Come on now, follow my lead  
Come, come on now, follow my lead_

She gets off him and he watches her take her dress off and walk off to the bedroom.

“You coming?” she asks, taking her bra off. He followed her to the room thanking whatever god led him to this woman.

_I’m in love the shape of you_

_We push and pull like a magnet do_

_Although my heart is falling too_

_I’m in love with your body._

* * *

 

He slowly wakes the next morning momentarily disoriented before remembering the events of the night before. He looks over at Penelope sleeping soundly next to him and smiles, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. She sighs and nuzzles into his chest. He traces her soft curves lazily taking in every inch of her. The morning being a stark contrast to last nights heated passion. He smiles as she moves in her sleep, slowly waking up. She looks at him and smiles whispering, “Hello.”

“Morning to you to love.” He whispers back. She giggles and stretches a little before getting out of bed, “I’m starving! What time is it?” she asks him.

“About 11:30,” he tells her.

“Wanna get some brunch?”

“Brunch sounds amazing, but I could use a shower.”

“What do you know, so could I.”

“Well, we shouldn’t waste water.”

“Or time.” She muses.

“That too, what a predicament.”

            “Get in the shower with me.”

            “Yes ma’am.” He says following behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always please read and review and let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I have a little life update: I have officially started a new semester and so I might not update as often as I used to but I still will try! Any way I hope you enjoy this new chapter and as always read and review! Thanks!

_A week later_

The hemsworth house was something out of a movie or beachside spa commercial. Both stories had wrap-around decks that Chris meticulously cleaned every week. Both floors had beautiful mahogany floors that made cleaning easy especially with a daughter and a dog that was just as messy as her and their backyard was practically the beach! So naturally the boys always wanted to hang out at Chris’s house when they could and it didn’t help that Hemsworths wife Elsa was a wonderful chef and hostess.

So that’s where they found themselves that Sunday. At Hemsworths house, sitting on the deck drinking, eating, and some curing hangovers.

“Evans, did you see Nancy again?” Pine asks him between bites of chips and guac.

“Actually we met up for lunch on Thursday.” Evans says with a smile.

“How was it?” Cavill asks.

“It went pretty well, we got lunch at this place near the school and we just ate and talked… it was nice.”

“Oh god, look how gushy he’s getting.” Hiddleston says with slight disgust, partly because he had a hangover.

“Oh you’re just mad the girl from the bar doesn’t like you and you hate it because everyone likes you.” Evans retorts.

Tom sticks his tongue out at him, “She does like she just doesn’t know it.” All the boys groaned.

“Tom just let it go, so what she doesn’t like you?” Pine asks. Tom narrows his eyes at Pine and then sips smoothie. Something dawns on Pine.

“Oh,” he says.

“What?” Tom asks.

“Oh my god.”

“What?!”

“You like her!”

“What! No! I- no I don’t!” Tom rejects.

“You totally like her!” Pine exclaims.

“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Cavill says.

“Who’s side are you on?!” Tom asks. Henry raises his hands in the air.

“Dude admit it you like her.” Evans says. Tom huffs and crosses his arms like a seven year old in his chair. All the boys laugh and move on from the subject just as Elsa walks out with more food.

“I hope you’re hungry! I made some ceviche.” She tells them as she sets the platter down.

“Elsa you are an angel truly.” Pine compliments. Elsa laughs and ruffles Pines hair. She was wearing a yellow sundress that flowed off her bulging belly carrying twins.

“Chris darling, you have to take India to her dance class.” Elsa told him. Chris groans, “Now?”

“Well I would but…” she says pointing to her tummy.

“Fair point,” Hemsworth says getting up. “Anyone wanna come with?” he asks. Pine stands up, “What the hell I’ll go.”

“Alright, India love lets go!” India came bounding down the stairs in her little dance outfit and bun and all three of them set off to the dance studio.

* * *

“Very good girls! Not lets practice our pas de bourreé.” Sana instructed. This class was almost over and now she was going to teach her last class of the day, thank goodness. She loved teaching these classes but she had things to do. Friends to hang out with, she was 28 for crying out loud! She needed to be more adventurous than Netflix and fancy wine. Honestly, the only action she got was by the hot theater professor that was ogling her last week and that was just sad.

The girls all lined up and started practicing their steps as Pine, Hemsworth and little India walked in.

“Daddy we’re early!” India huffs, she crosses her arms.

“Honey, its only ten minutes. Look all your friends are here.” Hemsworth says pointing to the group of little girls in the corner. India ran over to the group. Pine looked around the studio when his eyes met the girl from the studio. Oh god. Oh god it was her. Oh my god. Maybe she wouldn’t notice him—nope. She saw him. She saw him and recognized him. Oh god. He grabs Hemsworths arm and pulls him to the side.

“What? What’s going on?” Hemsworth asks.

“That’s her!” Pine whispers.

“Who?”

“The teacher! She’s the girl I saw last week!”

“The girl you stalked?”

“I didn’t stalk her! I just saw her from the room and I peeked—Okay that sounds like stalking but I didn’t!”

“Okay so you stalked Sana? Does that mean India has to go to a different dance studio because she’s really good.”

“No I just—Oh god shes coming over.” Pine says.

“It’s been nice knowing you buddy.” Hemsworth says patting him on the back. Pine glares at him as Sana walks over to him.

“Hello Mr. Hemsworth, how are you?” Sana asks.

“Doing well, how about you? How was your week?” he asks her. Pine standing awkwardly behind him.

“Well it was great, no guys ogled me this week.” She says looking at Pine.

“I peeked!” he shouts. The entire studio looks at them and Pine hides behind Hemsworth again. Sana looks at the girls, “We still have five more minutes girls! I want you to practice your 1, 3, 5 forms.” The girls nod and start practicing.

“I’m gonna, check on Indie and um, fix her hair…” Hemsworth says walking away, leaving Pine and Sana alone.

“Look I’m sorry for what happened last week.” Pine apologizes.

“I’m over it.” She tells him.

“You’re a really good dancer.”

“You said that.”

“I know, I just, you’re really good. And you teach.”

“The world costs money.”

“That’s very true.” Awkward.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” He says.

“I think throwing a water bottle at you is more than getting off on the wrong foot.” She retorts.

“Okay true, but I want to make it up to you. What can I do?” he asks. She raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms. Was this a dream? Hot professor was asking to make it up to her? The ball was totally in her court. Okay Sana don’t get too crazy.

“Are you doing anything after this?” she asks him.

“Um, no…” he answers.

“Then you are going to pick me up after this class and take me to get ice cream.” She tells him. He looks at her confused, “Seriously?”

“Yes. And it has to be at the place with castle made out of ice cream cones.” She informs him.

“Cone Castle?”

“Yes, that place. I want to go there.”

“Okay, I’ll pick you up after this class.”

“I can’t wait.” She says with a small smile.

He smiles back, “Me either.”  

_Seriously? He got a date?_ Hemsworth thought from across the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Boy oh boy! It’s been a month since my last update! I’m sorry but I do have school and I also got hired as a part time research assistant for a friends husband so that’s been exciting. I can’t tell you when the next update will come but I’m working on it as we speak and this update took up seven pages so it’s a pretty nice update all about Sana and Chris. The next chapters I’m planning on adding some backstories and plot for everyone so that should be exciting. Anyway as always read and review, leave a like, tell me what you think! OH! and before I forget some words that are mention that if you don’t speak Hindi or Urdu you won’t understand:
> 
> Bewakoof= idiot or dumbass. 
> 
> Anyway on with the show!!!

            "No! No! How did you get a date?!" Cavill asks confused. They had just gotten back when Hemsworth announced that Pine had somehow swooned Sana into taking her on a date. All the boys were, well, to say the least, outraged at how only Pine could do that.

"I was apologizing to her and I told her I'd make it up to her in any way possible and she asked me to get her ice cream!" He explains.

"Guys be happy she didn't slap a restraining order on him." Evans says. They all murmur their disbelief but kept quiet after that.

 

* * *

 

<I have a date -ST>

<A DATE?! -MC> <THE SANA TAHIR -MC> <HAS A DATE?! -MC>

<Calm down! It's just ice cream -ST>

<With you? It's never just ice cream -MC>

<Okay I'm not talking to you anymore -ST>

<IM KIDDING COME BACK! Who is this guy? -MC>

Against her better judgment Sana told Mahira who it was. The three little dots stared at her for what felt like 30 minutes; in reality it was only two.

<SANA TAHIR -MC> oh god. <You're going on a date with the guy who stalked you!? -MC> <ARE YOU A BEWAKOOF*?? -MC>

<He's friends with India’s dad! -ST>

<Stalkers can have friends! That's what makes them inconspicuous! -MC>

<Mahi please calm down! I'll text you when I'm leaving and going home and stuff I promise! -ST> <We're going to cone castle -ST>

The three dots stares at her again for a minute till Mahira sent her a text saying, "Fine. Just don't be too loud when you come home, I have an early day tomorrow." Sana smiled and went back to teaching class. She had a date!

Chris walked into the studio and looked around she had told him to wait ten minutes after class to pick her up because she needed time to get ready. So, Hemsworth and Pine left in separate cars and Pine silently freaked out the entire time.

_Okay, relax get it together man! So what if she’s a little younger than you? So what if you haven’t gone on a date in a year? You’ll be fine! Just don’t bring up your ex and you’ll be fine!_ He told himself. But as soon as he walked into the somewhat empty studio and saw Sana all that went out the window. Her hair was tied up in an elegant ponytail; the t-shirt dress and converse making her look cute yet casual (as she intended). She looks over and smiles at him. He waves as she walks over.

“You ready?” she asks.

“Y-Yea, you look great.” He compliments.

“Thanks I think so too!” she says with a twirl. He smiles and they start walking.

“I’m really sorry about the other night by the way. I shouldn’t have done that.” He apologizes.

“You’re forgiven. Just don’t stalk me or other people in the future.” She tells him.

“Scouts honor.” He says raising his hand. She laughs and he opens her door to the car.

_Aw, what a gentleman. It’s going to suck if he tries to kill me._ She thought as she got in. He gets in and starts driving to cone castle.

“So, you’re doing Midsummer Nights Dream right?” she asks.

“Yea, its in a few weeks, I oversee all the theatre productions that go on at Harden University.” He tells her.

“Wow, nice.”

“Yea it is, it can be stressful at times but I like it. What about you?” he asks her.

“Um well, I’m a dance teacher, and I am a grad student at UCLA for dance. I really want to be a choreographer, I love ice cream and pizza and kale, and I hate pants.” She tells him.

“You hate… pants?”

“With a passion. I only wear leggings, tights or skirts. And sometimes shorts.”

“Huh, well good to know. So, if you go to UCLA why were you at Harden practicing that late?”

“Oh, my roommate was working late at the research institute so, I decided to use the free dance rooms to practice so we could go home together.”

“What is she doing research on?”

“Well, they found some artifacts of Pakistani descent I guess you could say and she’s helping the head of the institute date them and stuff. His name is Dr. Cho I think?”

“Oh yea I know him, he’s really cool.”

“Yea she seems to like him. Ooh Cone Castle!” She squeals as they park. He smiles and looks at her.

“You really like ice cream.”

“I denied myself ice cream for a long time. I get excited over it.” She says getting out. He follows behind as she runs in. Her ponytail bouncing as she ran. Was this really the same girl who threw a water bottle at her?

She looked over all the flavors carefully, so many to choose from! There was raspberry, cookies and cream, rocky road, SALTED CARAMEL!

“There are so many flavors, I can’t pick one.” She whispers.

“So try them all.” He says. She looks at him, “I dare you.”

She smirks and looks at the guy working behind the counter. He felt so sorry for the guy for what she was about to do.

“Excuse me can I try every flavor of ice cram you have?” she asks. The guy behind the counter looks at her; Chris looks at her. She shrugs, “I’m waiting.” The guy nods and starts giving her samples of all the ice creams. Chris looks at her and then the guy behind the counter. Oh this guy was going to hate him.

“Can I get a sample of every flavor too?” he asks. Sana looks at him and smiles, “Better catch up.” “Oh I intend to.” he quips.

After 16 flavors, deliberations and some glares from the staff, Sana settled on cookie butter and Chris settled on fudge brownie. He paid the $10.25 and tipped the guy 5 dollars for dealing with them.

“Wait!” she shouts pulling out her phone. “We have to take a picture in front of the cone castle!” she walks over to the castle made out of ice cream cones that sat in a glass case in the middle of the store. “Aren’t you going to get in the picture?” she asks him.

“You want me in it?” he asks confused.

“Um duh, you’re my date.” She tells him.

“Oh so this is a date?” he asks cheekily coming closer. She narrows his eyes and scrunches her nose.

“You brought me ice cream and I got dressed up. If I didn’t like you I’d wear sweatpants.”

“I think you’d look cute in sweatpants.”

“I look cute in everything.”

“I’m sure you do, but I thought you hate pants.”

“I wear things I like around people I like.” By now they were practically an inch apart. The space between them practically begging them to kiss… And everyone else in the ice cream shop.

“Our ice cream is melting.” He tells her.

“We should take the picture.” She says. He nods and they pose for the picture and smile. They leave soon after for a walk around the plaza hand in hand…

* * *

 

“Okay okay, um…” she thought as they walked. “Oh! Would you rather have earthworms for eyebrows or every time you yawned you threw up a cat?” she asked. They had been playing would you rather while walking around the strip mall. Chris made a confused, disgusted face.

“Oh god, that was worse than the last one!” He says with a laugh, “Um, I guess earthworms for eyebrows? It would be an interesting conversation piece.” He decides.

“Good way of thinking about it.” She agrees.

“Okay, lets play a different game.” He suggests. She smirks, “Let me guess 20 questions?”

“Or some variation of that. I just, wanna learn more about you.” He explains. She looks at him and smiles a little.

“Shoot,” she replies.

“Favorite color?”

“Red, you?”

“Blue. Favorite food?”

“Ice cream, duh! You?”

“Too many to choose from. Favorite movie?”

“An Indian movie called “Main Hoon Na’ and you?”

“Anything from the 90’s.”

“That doesn’t count!” she protests.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“You need a specific movie!”

“Agh fine! Um, ‘Oceans 11’ oh shit that’s not from the 90’s.”

“Who cares, it’s a good movie. Oh! If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure, honestly probably California.” He decides, “I like being close to the beach and I like in n out. And its familiar.”

“Well I would go to Paris. It’s so beautiful there, and the food is wonderful and to dance in a city like that? Ugh, dream come true.”

He smiles, “Sounds nice.”

“Doesn’t it?” she quips. “Whens your birthday?” she asks.

“August 26th. Yours?”

“March 16th!” she tells him. He stops and looks at her.

“What did you say?” he asks, hoping he heard her wrong.

She looks at him, “My birthday is on March 16th.” Nope. He didn’t hear her wrong. This was a coincidence right?

“Huh,”

“What?”

“Um, nothing just… um, I um know someone else with that birthday.” He quickly spews.

“Oh cool! I like that person already.” She says with a smile. He smiles as best he can and quickly changes the subject.

“So, choreographer huh? Do you not like getting paid?” he quips.

“Haha very funny. You know what they say about teachers?” she says.

“What do they say?”

“Those who can’t do, teach.” She retorts.

“Ooh that’s good. But I’m not a teacher I’m a _professor._ ” He says.

“Oh forgive me I should’ve known,” She apologizes.

“It’s okay, it’s a common mistake.” He tells her. “Certainly won’t stop me from asking you out on a second date.” He teases.

She smiles, “You’re very sure about that.”

“Should I not be?”

“Oh no, you should be. Because next Friday you’re taking me dancing.” She lets him know. He laughs, “I can’t wait.”

* * *

 

He stopped in front of her apartment building and turned off the car. They both look at each other. “Should I walk you up?” he asks her.

“I’d like that,” she says with a smile. He smiles back and they get out, walking up to the apartment. Their fingertips brushing against each others until finally Chris took her hand in his and laced their fingers together.

“Keep that up you just might get yourself a kiss when we get to my door.” She teases.

“You think so?” he asks.

“Oh I know so,” she says. They smile at each other and climb up the stairs to her apartment standing in front of the door. The tension of ending their date perfectly hanging in the air. “I had a good time.” He says.

“Me too! We should do this again.” She suggests.

“Maybe dancing? I would love to see you dancing with out it being creepy.” He tells her. She giggles and comes closer to him, “I would like that.”

“I have to warn you I’m not the best dancer. That would be my friend Tom.”

“Well I should go on a date with him.”

He pulls her flush against him, their faces an inch apart. She squeaks and her hands brace against his shoulders, his very nice toned shoulders. He smiles and tilts her chin up with one hand, the other wrapped around her waist. He whispers in her ear, “He can’t give you what I can give you.”

“And whats that?” she asks quietly, she gasps as his hand slowly trail their way up her back. “Oh I can’t tell you all my tricks now can I?” he whispers, his lips trail down her neck and she shivers.

“Y-You are cruel.” She whimpers. He chuckles low and deep. And her hand tighten on his shoulders.  
            “I guess I’m going to have to take you on another date.”

“If you. Do not kiss me right n—“ his lips crush hers before she has a chance to finish the sentence and her arms wrap around his neck pulling him closer. His hands rest on her hips to explore more of her body. She moans softly and he slips his tongue in her mouth brushing it against hers. His climbing up her back, her arms. She moves her hands down his chest, tracing the lines of his abs (very nice in her opinion) and he groans low before pulling away slowly. Their eyes meet as they catch their breath. Her pupils were blown wide with desire and wanting and if it wasn’t Sunday night and she didn’t have an early morning class tomorrow she would have told him to stay.

“So, I’ll see you next Saturday?” he asks. She nods quickly. He smiles, “Goodnight Sana.”

“Goodnight Chris,” she says. She watches him walk down the steps of her building and leave before running inside and telling Mahira all about her date.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie another update ah! cool beans! As always leave a comment, tell me what you think!

_March 27 th, 2017._

Mahira sighed as she cataloged the findings into the computer. It was a slow day, she had finished her analysis of the findings, ate lunch, cleaned a storage closet that was slightly dusty, and now she was cataloging everything. And it was only 1:30! She groaned and slumped in her chair. What else was she going to do? She was here till 4 and there was nothing left to do!

“Bored?” a voice asked her. She turned to see Dr. Cho standing behind her smiling.

“A little sorry,” she apologizes. He laughs and shakes his head, “Don’t worry I like my job and I still get bored sometimes.” He pulls out a chair and sits next to her, “I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it Dr. Cho?” she asks sitting up.

“I told you, call me John. Dr. Cho is what my students call me.”

“Right sorry! What was it you wanted to talk about?”

“Well, I wanted to know if you were interested in a project I’ve been working on.” He tells her.

“What is it about?”

“Well, the department wants to do a sort of cultural exchange thing especially considering what’s going on in the world today. And I thought well we already have a cultural festival every year so why not do something different right? And I thought maybe if we all brought a stranger or someone we didn’t know as well into our lives and showed them our cultures and kind of broadened their horizons it would be a cool, academic way of getting to know one another.” He explains.

“That sounds really cool! It would be interesting not only for white people but people of other ethnicities to experience other cultures. I sort of feel we all are in our separate bubbles and need to sometimes expand our reach and our view.” She tells him.

“So, would you want to do help me with it?” he asks.

“Yea I’d love to! But um, what exactly do I have to do?” She questions.

“Oh right! Well first, you need to find a subject or someone to share this experience with. Next, I wanted to debut this whole project in September, when we usually hold our historic seminars with the museums and important people so this project will span a couple of months. But I think six months is a good enough time for immersive experience. What do you think?” he says.

“Six months sounds good, It’s kind of perfect because my sister is getting married and Ramadan is happening soon too.

“Perfect! Now all you need is someone to take to these things.” He says. “And I don’t count.” He adds.

Her smile fell. Crap, how was she supposed find someone so quickly? Sana couldn’t help because she was Indian and while they had different religions, they had been friends for years. She knew everything about Mahira’s life. She couldn’t ask anyone at work because she hated everyone at work and she was going to quit. Wait! The guy who always came to the bar! What was his name? Tom!

“Mahira? Did you hear what I said?” John asks snapping her back to reality.

“Huh?”

“I said I just want weekly reports/interviews about what you guys do. You can’t be just taking them to these things and not write anything down got it?”

“Oh! Yea of course! Um, would other teachers count?” she asks.

“I don’t see why not, you’re not a student.”

“Great! I think this project will be fun!” she gushes. They chatted about a few quick things like deadlines and reports before she headed over to the English department to find Mr. Hiddleston.

* * *

 

“Alright Andy take care, and don’t forget to indent your paragraphs please!” Tom called as the student rushed out of his office. He sighed and went back in to grade papers. It seemed all he did was grade papers and they weren’t even the good ones by his Classics students no he was grading the English 100 papers. The terribly written English 100 papers. Why were they so bad? Why didn’t these kids know how to spell? And why did Bridget feel the need to turn in everything a day late with the excuse of getting sick? He was a college student once, getting sick meant being drunk or hung over! And he still turned in his essays on time! There was a knock on his door interrupting him from his thoughts.

“Come in,” he murmurs. The door opens and—oh my god. It was her. Mahira was here. In his office! Was this a mistake? No, it couldn’t have been! Right? “Mahira?” he says befuddled.

“Hi, um is this a bad time?” she asks.

“No no! What is it?” he asks. She closes the door behind her and takes a seat. Taking the extra few seconds to figure out what to say to him.

“Um, so uh,” she stutters out. “So, Dr. Cho is doing this project and I wanted to know if you’d like to help?” she explains.

“What is it about?” he inquires. She explained the project in full detail as Dr. Cho—John—had told her. At the end of her spiel she looked at him and asked, “Would you be interested in being my partner for this?”

“It sounds amazing, I would love to be your partner. But, I thought you hated me.” He says.

“I don’t hate you! I just… I think you have some interesting qualities.” She said. That was a stretch.

“Interesting qualities?”

“You’re a serial womanizer who hits on women half your age and doesn’t stop talking.” She confesses.

“Serial womanizer?!” he exclaims.

“You hit on a different girl every week with the same ‘Ooh look at me I’m a suave British man! I’m so interesting!’ when really all you do is talk with your hands to make it seem like you’re interesting.” She retorts.

“Do you have something against British men?” he asked confused.

“Your people took over half the world and then left it in shambles when we rebelled against you, I have a bit of resentment.” She quips.

“Okay so you do hate me.” He states.

“No no! I—“ she sighs. “I don’t hate you, I just haven’t gotten to know you that well. And that’s what this project is about isn’t it?” she responds.

“Yea, I guess you’re right.” He replies. He smiles at her, “Okay, I’ll do the project with you.”

“Really?” she says amazed that even after that attack on his character he’d still want to work with her for six months.

“Yea, it sounds really cool and I’d love to learn how to belly dance.” He adds jokingly. Oh god, he was doing so well up until now.

“We don’t belly dance. That’s Morocco.” She says.

“Oh right sorry.” Goddammit Tom.

“Um, its fine I’ll come back tomorrow for our first interview and then we can talk after that. Sound good?” she asks. He nods and she stands up. “Well see you tomorrow Tom.”

“See you tomorrow Mahira.” He says. “Oh and Mahira?”

She turns around and looks at him, “Yes?”

“Don’t fall in love with me.” He replies cheekily with a grin. She rolls her eyes and mutters, “Bewakoof.” Under her breath and leaves. Tom sits back in his chair and sighs. He was going to be spending six months with her. God, it was going to be a trip.

* * *

 

Nancy looked at Chris from her spot across the table where he was reading book reports at her home. She was editing a draft or trying to when he asked her, “So, what is this?”

“What’s what?” she asked back.

“You know this,” he says gesturing to them both. “What are we?”

“Well I’m pretty sure we’re human unless you have something you want to tell me.” She jokes. He laughs, “No no I mean our relationship.”

She paused and looked at him, “Oh that.”

“Yea.”

“Yea,” she agreed. She closed her laptop, editing would have to wait. “Well um, we’ve been going out a lot these past few weeks.” She replies. 10 dates to be exact according to her calendar, every free lunch, every free after school afternoon, they spent together it was kind of insane how in such little time they had been together for ten dates. 10 dates! In 10 dates she learned about his family—two sisters and a brother—he learned about hers—no siblings, just her mom, Kaylee who they kind of adopted after she came out as bisexual and little May—she found out they both liked Disney movies, he found out she liked to plan out everything and making lists, planning out her weekly schedule, she even taught him to meal prep and he was forever thankful for that. She also found out he was a great kisser.

She had kissed men before mind you and they were all great. But either it had been a long time or Chris was some kind of god of kissing in another life because holy crap he was a good kisser. The way he leaned in and paused just before kissing her, as if he was planning out how he was going tease and torment her with the way he’d kiss her. And it wasn’t just his lips that tormented; oh no no it was the way his hands travelled her body, exploring every inch of her skin. His beard rough against her neck but it was rough and wonderful and she wondered what his beard would feel like against more sensitive parts of her body and then she had to bring her thoughts back because oh god she was thinking about him doing very dirty things to her and he was staring at her wondering what this relationship meant to them both and great she was probably drooling. Dammit.

“I’m sorry you were saying something?” she says coming back to reality.

“Um, well I was just saying that I really like you.” He answers.

“I really like you too.” She responds.

“I was um thinking that maybe I could um call you my—“

“Wait!” she interrupts. He looks at her, dammit Chris moving too fast.

“S-Sorry sorry I just, I thought this was going somewhere and I wanted to be sure.” He apologizes.

“What? No Chris I…” she sighs and gets up and walks over closer to him, sits in his lap. “I really like you too.”

“Then what is it? What’s stopping you?”

“…You’re May’s teacher.” She whispers.

“What?”

“You’re May’s teacher! I mean some of the moms know and they haven’t been mean but I’m scared if more of them know and they find out and they might make May’s life miserable and I just don’t want that for her.” She confesses. He looks at her for a moment and then bursts out laughing. “What’s so funny?!” she asks confused and slightly frustrated.

“The moms are stopping you? Nancy this is _kindergarten._ ” He says.

“It’s more political than you think! PTA moms are scary.” She retorts.

“If the school doesn’t have a problem with it, the moms shouldn’t. Nance I really like you. I like your lists, and your meal preps and how you talk about books and movies.” He says. She smiles a little and he continues, “I like how wonderful of a mother you are to May. I like your laugh; I like the way you gasp when I kiss that spot on your neck.” She blushes and scrunches her nose. He laughs, “I like how you scrunch your nose when you’re nervous or embarrassed. I like you a lot. And I really can’t wait to see where this goes.” He finishes. She smiles and kisses his cheek. “I can’t wait to see either… Boyfriend.” She replies. He grins, “Oh so I’m your boyfriend?”

“Yes. And I guess I’m your girlfriend.”

“Mmm, maybe.” He says. She makes a face and he laughs, “Of course you’re my girlfriend! I’m the one who brought up the conversation didn’t I?”

She giggles and kisses him. And they kissed again, and again, and again…

 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight nsfw-ness ahead but enjoy!

<Do you like tacos? –PH> Henry looked at the text and smiled. Macaroni crafts would have to wait.

<I love tacos –HC> <All sorts of tacos –HC>

<You should come over to my place then –PH>

<I should –HC>

<I’ll see you soon? –PH>

<30 minutes give or take –HC>

<Can’t wait ;) –PH>

It didn’t take him very long to get dressed and go over to her apartment, but traffic in LA was what took him so long, by the time he got to her house an hour had passed and rushed up to her floor vaguely remembering the number, was it 22 or 24? He decided on 22 and knocked on the door. He sighed in relief when Penelope opened the door.

“Traffic?” she asked. He nodded and she let him in. “Did you take the 405?”

“What other freeway would I take?” He asked taking a seat on a bar stool by the island.

“I think if you take the 5 south and then the 91 its faster.” She tells him going over and grabbing some tortillas from the fridge.

“Are you sure? I think the 405 straight through is better.”

She laughs, “God, we sound like stereotypical Californians.”

“Speak for yourself, I’m not from here.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell with that accent.” She says sarcastically. She put the tortillas on the stove to warm and grabs a bowl from a cabinet next to the fridge to mix some salad in.

“Is that sarcasm I sense?”

“How could you tell?” she says with a smirk. “Want a beer?” she asks going to the fridge.

“A beer sounds fantastic,” He answers. She grabs two bottles and opens them both before handing one to him. He takes a swig as she checks on the meat in the oven, giving him a lovely view of her butt.

“So, we never really got to know each other that night.” He says. She pulls the rack of meat out of the oven and looks at him smiling a little.

“We were a little distracted weren’t we?” she says.

“A little,” he says with a chuckle.

“Well, what would you like to know?” she asks him.

“Um, I don’t know, everything I guess.”

“ _Everything?”_ she asks.

“Okay maybe not everything. Um, what do you do?” he asks.

“I’m a florist, I own a shop down the road from here!” she says. “You?” she asks.

“I’m a preschool teacher.” He says. Her jaw drops. “What?” he asks.

“Seriously? A huge guy like you in charge of little four year olds? That’s adorable!” she squeals. He chuckles, “Yea it is and then you get paint all over you and it’s not so adorable.”

She laughs, “Ah, true. Do you wanna help me make some guacamole?” He nods and goes around to help her out cutting some avocados as he asks, “So did you always want to be florist?”

She thinks for moment then answers, “Yea kind of. My mom was really sick when I was a kid so she was in and out of hospitals all the time.”

“I’m so sorry.”

She shakes her head, “She’s fine now, but when I was younger and whenever people brought her flowers she just lit up. It made the boring room seem more human with the flowers. I always liked that. I got my degree in Botany just to give my mom some sense of security that I’d be okay and I opened that shop. I want to one become a floral designer for weddings and parties but for now I’m happy where I’m at.” He smiles, “That sounds nice. Was it just you and your mom growing up?”

She nods, “Yea, my dad left when I was two and never came back. I don’t really care because I don’t remember him.” Her eyes told a different story though, she looked somewhat remorse when she said that but, she quickly shook her head and said, “Enough about me, what about you?”

“Um, well I have a mom, dad, and five brothers.” He starts.

“Five brothers! Poor mom.” She exclaims.

He laughs, “Yea, she’s an angel for putting up with us.”

“What made you want to be a preschool teacher?” she asks.

“I’ve just always loved kids, it seemed like a natural fit for me.”

“That’s nice. Ooh I think the meat is ready!” she says pulling out the tray from the oven, the heavenly scent filling the apartment.

“That smells absolutely divine.” He says setting the bowl down. She smiles, “Wanna eat outside on the balcony?” he nods and they set up their dinner outside. Penelope quickly switches on the lights hanging outside to give the balcony a warm ambiance and they sit down and dig in.

10 tacos, and some good conversation later they both had come inside to escape the chill of the night air. They were sitting on the couch, Penelope resting her head on Henry’s shoulder his arm around her, it was perfect, she felt perfect in his arms. And he hadn’t felt that in a long time.

“So… the freeway is probably crazy right now.” She says.

“You think so?” he asks.

“Yea, you should probably spend the night, just leave in the morning.” She suggests. He laughs and shifts around so he could look her in the eye.

“Should I now?” he asks coyly.

“Oh yea. I wouldn’t want you falling asleep on the road.” She tells him.

He smirks, “You care very much about my safety don’t you?”

“Your safety is my number one concern.”

“Really?”

“Truly.”

“There aren’t any ulterior motives to me sleeping over?” he asks. His hand slowly creeping up her inner thigh. She gasps softly and maintains eye contact when she asks, “Why would you think that?”

“I just don’t want to be taken advantage of.” He jokes. His hand playing with the hem of her dress, she slowly opens her legs giving him permission to explore further and a small smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

“I wouldn’t dream of doing that to you.” She tells him. Her breathing a bit heavier as his hand slips underneath her dress. He groans when he finds she’s wearing a thong and he debates whether to continue their game or just take her right there on the couch. The small smile on Penelope’s face makes him choose option one. He traces the thong slowly, with great care and whispers, “You sure about that Penelope?” She bites her lip and scoots closer, the ache in her belly growing with each touch of his fingers on her.

“Henry, please.” She pleads softly.

“Please what?” he asks matching her tone. He traces the thin band separating him from her entrance.

“Please stay the night.” She asks. He stops, and looks at her. Their faces an inch apart, his eyes dart to her lips before their lips crash together. He picks her up, his lips still locked on hers, and walks to the bedroom and kicks the door closed behind him.

Oh he was definitely staying the night.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW I FORGOT TO PUTTHIS CHAPTER UP IM SO SORRY GUYS! IVE BEEN SO BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND WORK AND STUFF HERE IT IS ENJOY I HOPE YOU LIKE IT! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!
> 
> Also some words you might not be familiar with:  
> Aloo ke Pateh= son of a potato (urdu insult)
> 
> Kyoon= why?

_"Mahira!" The gruff voice shouted slamming the front door. Mahira tensed and looked up from her place in the kitchen, she took a deep breath and walked to where he was._

_"Y-Yes?" She asked._

_"I'm hungry. Where's dinner?" He asked curtly._

_"I-It's coming j-just five more minutes."_

_"It better not taste bad." He told her. She nodded and ran to the kitchen to finish preparing the meal and prayed he would like it. She set the table and bowl of food in front of him. He grabbed a roti and scooped the food into his plate. She held onto her dupatta for dear life as twenty minutes of agony passed as he ate. He finished and pushed his plate away._

_"D-Do you want more..?" She asked. He shook his head and went to the couch leaving her to clean up after him. Dinner went well, she was fine, she was fine._

_"Mahira what's this?" He asked holding up a box with a bracelet._

_"Oh my mom came over and-" she started explaining._

_"She was here? And you didn't fucking tell me?" He shouted. She flinched. Oh god oh god._

_"I-I didn't think it was anything bad."_

_"Why not huh? You don't belong to her anymore." He told her._

_"R-Rajesh she's my mom." She defends. He glares and slowly stalks over to her. Oh no, no Mahira you idiot. She thought. He grabbed her arm painfully and got in her face._

_"You. Are. My. Wife." He told her. "You don't belong to her. And you're not allowed to see her. Understood?"_

_"R-Rajesh you’re hurting me!"_

_"I SAID UNDERSTOOD?!" He shouted. It wasn't a question. She nodded quickly and he let go of her, pushing her away from him as she hit the wall. She bit her cheek to not cry in front of him. He walked off to the bedroom and Mahira sank to the floor and silently sobbed._

***

Mahira woke up sobbing and screaming, she looked around and saw her apartment, thank goodness, it was just a nightmare. The light switches on and she looks and sees Sana standing in the doorway.

"What happened what's wrong?!" Sana asks concerned.

"Nothing, it was a nightmare. I'm sorry, I woke you." Mahira says.

"I was awake already don't worry..." Sana assures. She looks at Mahira, "Was it about Rajesh...?" She asks. Mahira looks down. Even after two years that asshole was still haunting her. Sana came over and sat in bed next to her, holding her.

"He's not here." Sana told her.

"I know." Mahira mumbled.

"He's not in the country."

"I know."

"He's not coming back."

"I know. I know all that and it doesn't help." She told Sana.

"Why not?"

"Because I chose him. I fell in love with him and picked him to be my husband and I married him. I wanted to be with that monster Sana." She explains. Tears fall down her cheeks.

"He manipulated and abused you Mahira. He made you fall in love with him. It's not your fault." Sana tells her. She stayed quiet. A part of her knew that but another part of her wondered what parts of their entire relationship were real and what parts were fake. He had to have liked her in the beginning right? In order to spend all that time wooing her. But then again everything he did was an ulterior motives. She looked at Sana and Sana smiled back at her.

"Can you distract me?" Mahira asked.

Sana smiled and went to turn off the light and then went back and lied next to Mahira in bed. "Well Chris and I went on another date. We kissed again, like a ton. He's a great kisser."

"Tongue?" Mahira asked.

"Oh hell yes." Sana confirmed. Mahira giggled. "He's a bit of a bad dancer though." Sana confessed.

"Well don't invite him to a wedding."

"I'll invite him to the reception just not the mendhi."

"Good idea."

"How's your project with the hot professor going?" Sana asked. Mahira groaned.

"He's an aloo ke Pateh.*"

"How so?"

"He just, I don’t know he always tries to prove how smart and multicultural he is and then says something stupid.”

"Aw how cute."

"Not cute."

"Totally cute, I ship it."

"Sana Tahir take that back."

"Kyoon?*"

"Because it's never gonna happen. He's white, he's not Muslim and he's not my type. And no one will marry someone like me."

"Hey don't say that Mahi."

"It's true though isn't it?"

"Do you think I thought I'd live past the age of 18? Mahira I was in the hospital at 16 and I weighed 60 pounds. I didn't think I'd ever be here. We all have low points in our life, it's our choice whether to make something better of it or not." Sana said. Mahira stared at her in the darkness and hugged her tight crying softly into her shoulder. Sana hugged her tightly and held her as she cried. She knew what feeling empty felt like. She knew what wrecks they both were. She hated what Rajesh did to her. She wanted to make him feel that pain tenfold and even still it wouldn't be enough. It still wouldn't compare to the pain he caused her. So she let Mahira cry and held her as she did.

“No one wants a wreck like me,” Mahira whispered between sobs. “No one wants a weak, spineless shell of a person like me.” Sana’s heart broke as she said that, damn everything in the universe that made her think that. She stroked Mahira’s hair like her mom always did for her.

“You are one of the bravest people I’ve ever met. Mahira, that guy ruined you. He took and took until there was nothing left and you still fought. You still decided to stay. You reinvented yourself, you became this amazing, wonderful, completely talented woman and I honestly am so honored to be your friend.” Sana tells her.

Mahira looks at Sana, “You’re so much more than my friend you’re like my sister Sana. You are my sister.” Sana smiles and hugs her forever thankful she met Mahira.

“Come on we’re gonna make cookies.” Sana says.

“What kind?” Mahira asked.

“Lets just put everything in them and see what happens.”

“Do you want to start another fire?”

“Hey! That was just smoke!”

Mahira laughed as they went to the kitchen at 2 in the morning to make cookies, talk about boys (well Sana did about Chris), the world, and who was the true Bollywood heartthrob of the 90’s (Shahrukh Khan ultimately won because who could deny that performance in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham?). And even though Mahira knew all her fears and doubts about the future and Rajesh were still there. She knew the love surrounding her was greater than all of those combined. And the love she didn’t know coming was also greater than her fears but… that’s a different story for a different chapter…

**Author's Note:**

> Please read and review and follow me on tumblr at immabewriting.tumblr.com!!!


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